LINCOLNTON, NC-Commissioners approved Lincoln County's incentive program in early 1999 because the county felt it was missing certain economic opportunities by not having such a program. To date, three companies have signed deals with the county that give them tax breaks ranging from 75% to 85% in exchange for substantial investments in property and equipment.

A Florida retailer's decision to build a warehouse in the Lincoln County Industrial Park is the latest success story. Robb & Stucky, a Fort Myers, FL-based retailer with 13 stores, is spending $4.8 million to build a warehouse early next year at the park on Finger Mill Road. The company will employ about 20 warehouse and office workers.

In exchange for that investment, Lincoln County will rebate the company $18,300 in property taxes annually for the next five years. The rebate, in addition to the industrial park's access to four-lane U.S. 321, led it to choose Lincoln. The company, already with a warehouse in Marion and wanting to be close to North Carolina's furniture manufacturers, had looked at sites in Burke and Catawba counties.